Mange is a skin disease that affects domestic animals. This disease can sometimes affect man. Mange is marked by eczematous inflammation and loss of hair. This disease is caused by a minute parasite of Sarcoptes, Psoroptes, Chorioptes, or related genera that burrows in or lives on the skin, or of Demodex that lives in the hair follicles or sebaceous glands.
A preparation is disclosed in Kanfoush, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,319, for treating skin diseases in humans and animals, including mange in dogs with a mixture of benzylbenzoate, benzocaine, isopropyl alcohol, and trichloroethylene. Methylene chloride, used alone or with other ingredients, has been used to kill Coccidia and Ascaridae worm eggs which have solid protective shells. A method for this use of methylene chloride is disclosed in Rohner, U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,271. Fletcher, U.S. Pat. No. 2,425,238 discloses a methylene chloride-ethylene bromide mixture for killing insects, weevils, borers, and beetles.
In advanced cases of mange, conventional cures are often not successful. I have discovered that methylene chloride is effective in treating advanced cases of mange in dogs. I have used methylene chloride by itself, but a diluent can be employed if desired for some purposes.